You already know people are waking up. There's evidence everywhere. But sometimes, we forget if we are in an area of the world where our neighbors, family, and/or co-workers are trapped in a 3D life. Sometimes it feels like we're all alone and nobody could possibly understand us. Fortunately, that's not true at all.
Since October of 2019, I've been traveling around the country, finding spiritual communities in every major city I visit. There is always a contingent, and I'm encouraged by who I find and what they are doing to vibrate higher. So I wanted to share some of my discoveries for those of you who don't get to travel as much as I do.
At this point I would say that the audience who reads this blog fits into a particular demographic. Sure, there are exceptions, but from what I can tell, the majority are the types of people who attend the Awake and Empowered Expo in Detroit, MI or the Conscious Life Expo in Los Angeles, CA.
Anecdotally, this demographic seems to be predominantly women, ages 35-65. What I've noticed is that men are often greatly outnumered at these events -- sometimes as much as 3-to-1.
The Dalai Lama has said it himself, "The world will be saved by the western woman." The only untruth about the Dalai Lama's statement could be that the western woman has already been saving the world for the past 30 years! Either way, the divine feminine energy is a major reason why women dominate this movement.
But what about the younger generation? The Millenials? Generation Z (which is the current name for the generation after the Millenials.) As I've already discussed in a previous blog post, Healing Young Adults in their Natural Habitat, there is an encouraging movement among this generation that I have discovered at EDM concerts and festivals like Burning Man, Lucidity, Electric Forest, Envision, and plenty more.
The best part? This demographic is evenly distributed among men and women.
Recently, I've been discovering more evidence of this expanded awakening here in Los Angeles. I attended an event that you can find in some of the major cities in the United States called Ecstatic Dance. This is a non-alcoholic event, often held during the afternoon on a Sunday or early evening on a Saturday, where participants not only don't drink, but they leave their shoes outside the dance area, and in some cases (like the one here in Los Angeles) talking is frowned-upon.
Why would talking be outlawed? For 100% participation. When you are talking, you aren't dancing. And the space is created to allow for complete freedom of expression without judgement. It's also a permission and consent space. Should you be interested in dancing with someone else, you must ask permission (with obvious body language) before engaging in any type of couples dancing where touch or personal space invasion is involved.
Amazingly, the Los Angeles contingent has a very large space with hundreds of participants, and I feel that they are about to run out of room and will need to upgrade to a larger location soon!
After attending these types of events, I have a theory as to why the 40-65 age range is lacking in male attendance. Growing up in the midwest in the 80s, I noticed that men were not incentivized to show their feminine sides thanks to the deep fear of homosexuality. If you had interest in truly expressing yourself while dancing, showing love, or hugging other men, you would be called "gay," or worse.
The manly man stigma has been a major part of our cultural history, and for many men who grew up in this environment, they find it difficult to shed those learned thoughts and behaviors to truly express their unconditional love for each other, and for all.
But the future is bright! With this younger generation showing an equal distribution of awakened men as women, we can be even more encouraged and excited about the potential of future leadership coming from an enlightened space.
In an event I recently attended in which music was performed, poetry was read, and expressive dancing was done, not only was the poetry and lyrics laced with messages of "I am Source" and "Unconditional Love for All" but the demographic may have been slanted in favor of more men than women! (I didn't do a headcount, so this is anecdotal as well, but the age group was largely 25-35.)
The encouraged audience participation during the music portion was extraordinary. So many different voices from the small crowd, all contributing their own unique flavor to the music -- even if they had never heard the song before. They would creatively participate, adding additional tones, notes, and backup lyrics to create a completely new song. It was truly a magical experience.
And for those who are excited about the prospect of plant medicines continuing to become more and more accepted and mainstream, at one point in the evening, cacao was served intermixed with a moderate to light dose of psilocybin for anyone in attendance who wanted to participate. As a syncronized affair, attendees lined up and were served their magic-mushroom-laced beverage at the same time. I believe that the majority of the attendees did in fact participate, and it seemed like no big deal at all. As natural and as comfortable as drinking alcohol -- without the brash behavior, lack of judgement, spilling of drinks, and loss of control typically seen at alcohol-fueled events!
I know that events like this are growing all over the country and all over the world. It's impressive and encouraging.
Get ready, because a new paradigm is coming!